A total of 13 articles will be removed from Penang's Freedom of Information Bill 2011, which will be tabled at the next sitting of the state legislative assembly at the end of this month.

The 13 are part of 37 changes to the Bill, which the state government did not table at the May sitting because of the presentation of a White Paper on an alleged land scam - the Tan Hak Joo case - in the House.

NONE State FOI select committee chairperson Jagdeep Singh Deo said nine new sub-articles and amendments to 15 sections would be part of the changes to the Bill, which were opened to public feedback in February.

"The general thrust of the amendments is to make all information of the state government accessible to the public," Jagdeep told a press conference after handing over the draft Bill to House speaker Abdul Halim Hussein yesterday.

The principle of the FOI earlier, prepared by a seven-member select committee, did not require all information to be accessible, he said.

However, with the amendments, all information would be accessible, except for a few areas, he added.

Since it was formed in November last year, the select committee has held seven meetings, drawing inputs from 16 NGOS and four political parties.

FOI appeals board to be set up

Although Jagdeep said all proposals from the various groups were incorporated into the bill, Gerakan has lamented that each organisation was given only 15-20 minutes to present its views.

Gerakan's publicity, information and communications bureau chief Dr Thor Theong Ghee had questioned why the state delayed tabling the bill when it claimed to be a competent, accountable and transparent (CAT) government.

"Two months have passed... many points, concerns, disagreements and doubts were raised but now (there is) only a deafening silence," Thor had said.

Jagdeep also announced an independent FOI appeals board, to be set up once the Bill is passed, to look into requests for information.

If the board functions independently, there would be no need for applicants to take their appeals to court, he added, saying the Bill would be tabled at the end of the month when the state assembly sits.

Jagdeep sees no barriers to the passing of the Bill, saying it was "one of the pillars of the CAT government of Penang", a slogan touted by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng since he took office in 2008.